The Demon Master
by Psycho Counter
Summary: A/U Shortly after the Seventh Angel, a new student from America arrives and offers to teach Shinji martial arts. How will Shinji's life be changed by this turn of events? Shinjix? OCxOC
1. Meeting the New Student

Hey everyone. The name's Psycho Counter and I would like to welcome you all to my first ever fic: The Demon Master.

Just to give you guys a heads up: there will be major Gendo-bashing in later chapters as well as Asuka bashing early on. I personally like neither of the two and will thoroughly enjoy beating the crap out of them.

Author's Notes: The pairing with Shinji has yet to be decided so I've got a little treat for you guys at the end of the chapter. Wanna know what it is? Then read, damn it!

Alright I'm done with the paperwork bull**** (May ye burn in hell!), so let's get this thing started.

Disclaimer: I don't anything Eva-related. I have to rent my own clothes, for heaven's sakes!

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**The Demon Master  
****By Psycho Counter**

**Chapter 1: Meeting the New Student**

Shinji Ikari was not somebody you would call 'confident.' In fact, a worm probably has more of a backbone then the brown haired, blue-eyed Eva pilot. Of course, being abandoned by your dad at an early age and then brought back to be his tool, all the while being forced to live with a couple of domineering females, could more than likely do that to ya…and right now, one of said females was _not_ happy.

"Come on, Baka Shinji! Get your ass in gear before I'm late for school," yelled the volatile Asuka Langley Sohryu, pilot of Eva Unit-02 and self-proclaimed Most Important Person Alive.

Gee, ego much?

"You could always go on without me, Asuka. I'm almost ready though," Shinji replied from his room. Thanks to his alarm's battery dying, the shy young pilot had slept in this morning. That didn't sit well with Asuka, who expected her breakfast prepared and on the table every morning by the time she got up and finished showering.

"Are you nuts?! If you're late, then that makes me look bad since I have to figuratively hold your hand all the time," she snapped.

Shinji sighed and slung his book bag over his shoulder. Taking one last glance at his room, he walked out and joined Asuka as they began the trek to another day of Hell With Florescent Lighting, AKA school.

**(Tokyo-3 Junior High)  
**"Hey Shin-dog, what the hell happened to you!" Shinji winced as his friends Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida probed at his swollen right eye.

"Well…while we were walking to school, I kinda lagged behind since Asuka kept walking too fast for me to keep up with her. Anyway, we got about two blocks from the school when some guy knocked me over on accident. To make a long story short, I fell down, accidentally grabbed Asuka's butt when I tried to catch myself, and she kicked me right in the face while I was still on the ground."

The two friends cringed. "She kicked you in the face! Son of a…I don't care who she thinks she is, that ain't right man," Toji exclaimed. He of all people knew the torture that Shinji went through with the Red Devil of Tokyo-3 as a lot of the guys had taken to calling her. He happened to be a common target of her ire when Shinji wasn't around to pick on.

Shinji's eyes teared up slightly as the swollen flesh throbbed with pain. He never asked for any of this. And it was an accident, but Asuka always felt that her own personal brand of justice needed to be meted out whenever boys were involved. It was like she had some kind of vendetta against all males not named Ryoji Kaji.

As the teacher walked in, Class Rep Hikari Horaki stood to attention like a drill sergeant. "All rise. Bow. Sit."

The teacher nodded as Hikari took her own seat. "Thank you Ms. Horaki. Now then, everyone, I'd like to inform you that we have a new student. He's a foreign transfer from America so do your best to make him comfortable. Come on in, son, and tell us about yourself," the old professor said. The entire class's attention focused on the door as it slowly slid open to reveal a young man who, by traditional Japanese standards anyway, looked rather odd.

Standing at close to 5'8", he towered over the other students. His long raven-black hair was tied in a ponytail, his eyes a vivid electric blue, much like Shinji's. Even through the school uniform, you could see that he was rather well built despite his slender frame. Not like a body-builder, but more like a gymnast. His arms and legs were long, and he seemed to carry himself with a confident air. The new boy just seemed to emit an aura of strength. The strangest thing about him, though, was a jagged, triangular scar that marred his left cheek. His hands also seemed to be wrapped in bandages, though for what reason was anybody's guess.

Shinji gulped. He hoped that the new student was nothing like Asuka. If he was, then the Third Child wasn't sure he would survive the encounter should he piss the guy off. Even Toji, long considered the toughest boy in class, looked a little apprehensive at the intimidating American.

The boy's features showed no emotion. Sweeping his eyes over the class, he surveyed each of his new classmates individually, finally coming to rest on Shinji. His eyes lingered, studying the boy with the swollen face and fearful eyes. Suddenly, the new student's face broke out into a full-blown grin.

"Howdy ya'll! The name's Sigurd Morgan, but you can call me Sig. I just flew in from Texas of the USA, probably one of the few states to escape most of the brunt of Second Impact, since my folks decided to send me here on a foreign exchange program. Anyway, my hobbies include martial arts, writing short stories, and making jokes. I hope to make a lot of new friends around here. It's very nice to meet you all," he said. The rest of the class was shocked. They had expected the new guy to be mean and nasty, if Asuka was any indication to a foreigner's attitude. But instead, the boy threw them all for a loop. He was acting like a total goofball!

Looking around, Sig smiled and strolled over to the empty desk beside Shinji in the back of the classroom, setting his bag down and plopping himself in the seat as the teacher began today's lecture on Second Impact.

As it turned out, even Sig wasn't immune to the consciousness-draining effects of the old geezer's droning voice. Within minutes, he had passed out from sheer boredom like the rest of the class.

Several hours into the class, Sig woke to a shrill pinging sound emitting from his laptop. Groaning at the rude awakening, he glowered at the machine until he noticed that someone had sent him a message. He clicked on the link, staring at the question inside.

_Are you a pilot? Y or N?_

'_Pilot? Oh they must mean from that Nerv place. Heh…not exactly the most tactful of interrogation methods, but then again I _am_ in a junior high school_,' he thought to himself. Typing in a negative reply and sending it off, he laid his head back down and was ready to drift back into a peaceful slumber. At least, that is, until the lunch bell decided to ring.

The class jumped and stampeded out the door in typical fashion to stuff their faces, with Sig casually strolling behind them. He walked out the main doors into the bright sunlight and let his eyes shift from side to side, as if looking for someone. Glancing towards a large oak tree next to the basketball court, he locked sights on his target and, smirking, stepped forward.

"Come on Shinji Ikari, fess up would ya! Toji and I both know the guy has to be a pilot. It's the only reason anybody would move in what with the Angel attacks and everything," Kensuke exclaimed. The bespectacled boy would do anything for information on the Evas and their pilots. That was why he was currently drilling Shinji for any information the shy young man may have been hiding.

"I've already told you Kensuke, I haven't ever seen the guy before. And besides, Misato would've told me if we had gotten a new pilot. No, I think he-" Shinji tried to explain to his friends before noticing that the boy they were discussing was standing right behind the military otaku.

Shinji shivered. He didn't want to think of the implications that smirk on the taller boy's face meant. Gulping, the Third Child pointed behind his friend, prompting his lunch-mates to turn around.

"Hey guys. I couldn't help but overhear you. Just to clear things up, I have no affiliation with Nerv at all. I'm just a regular guy who came here to brush up on my Japanese and make some new friends," Sig said. The three sighed in relief. At least he wasn't there to pummel them…

Shifting his gaze to Shinji, the American kneeled down and gently pressed his hand to the smaller boy's battered face.

"This looks pretty ugly. What happened to you, man?" Shinji looked at the ground shamefully.

"It was an accident," he said softly.

Toji snorted. "Accident my ass! Asuka Sohryu, the redhead over there with the Class Rep, tried to use Shinji's face here for a soccer ball because he got knocked over and fell on her," he said, making sure to say the girl's name in his best impression of her.

Sig's eyebrows rose slightly. "Interesting. Anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and fix that nasty little wound up for ya real quick," he offered. Getting to his feet, Sig crossed his hands together in an X-pattern before laying them on Shinji's forehead. The pilot could only stare and wonder what the new student was doing. The larger boy took a deep breath and began to chant in a strange tongue.

"Fix it? Dude, he needs to go and see a doc-" Toji started, though he quickly shut up as he saw Sig's hands literally glow with power. Quickly, a brilliant white aura engulfed Shinji and his two friends watched as the swelling visibly shrank and the redness surrounding the wounded area disappeared completely before their eyes. Toji and Kensuke's mouths dropped in shock when Sig removed his hands to reveal that Shinji's face was completely healed. Patting his cheeks gently, Shinji felt absolutely no pain. He stared in awe at the new student.

"H-h-how did you do that?" he asked.

Sig chuckled. "That, Shinji, was a healing aura created by my ki. I'm a martial artist by trade and my master taught me the arts of using one's inner energy to heal others. I can tell that you're the kind of person who only fights when forced to protect others, so if you'd like I can possibly teach you a few things on self-defense," he replied.

Shinji looked downcast. "No that's okay. I wouldn't want to be a burden."

"Nonsense! If there's one thing I enjoy, it's teaching others how to protect themselves and their friends. Really, I think you could do well. My master always said I was a good judge of potential and you, Mr. Ikari, have a lot of potential in you. Trust me; all you need to do is try. I won't ask you to continue if you feel that you can't handle it," Sig insisted.

The only male Eva pilot sighed. It seemed like the other boy wouldn't take no for an answer. "Okay then. I guess I could give it a shot. Maybe I could learn something."

Sig smiled and patted Shinji on the back. "Hey don't worry. I wouldn't teach you anything I thought you couldn't handle," he assured. Suddenly, the two were twisted around by Toji and Kensuke as a very angry redhead came stomping towards them.

Growling at Shinji, Asuka threw her lunch bag at him violently. "Baka! I thought I told you not to put miso sauce on it! You know I hate miso sauce," she screamed at him. By then, a sizable crowd was starting to gather. Students began taking bets on how long before Asuka punched her roommate square in the face. A couple observant ones started chattering about how Shinji's face looked completely fine compared to this morning.

"B-but Asuka…you've never told me you don't like miso sauce," Shinji responded. He hoped that the German fireball would listen to reason for once and leave him alone. Sadly, it was not to be.

"Bull! You're just lying to get yourself some pity. Well guess what, Third Child? I'm gonna put you in your place, once and for all!" she shrieked, cocking her arm back. Shinji cringed and threw up his hands to try and protect himself. Hikari screamed and made a move to restrain Asuka, but the redhead was bigger and managed to effortlessly throw her friend back. Grinning, Asuka launched a right hook as hard as she could. She knew that she never mentioned her sauce preference to Shinji, but she'd be damned if she let the rest of the class know that. A girl had to have her pride after all…

Shinji waited for the inevitable impact, but surprisingly felt nothing. Blinking, he dropped his hands to see that Sig had caught Asuka's fist and was gripping it tightly as the girl tried to pull her hand free.

Sigurd Morgan did not look too happy. "Listen girl, I'm not sure what they teach kids these days in Germany, but where I come from, we treat others with respect." He let go of the girl, who stumbled back and fell as her momentum was suddenly let loose.

Getting to her feet, she pointed accusingly at the much larger Sig. "Listen pal, I don't take orders from guys like you who think they know something about manners. You're not even worthy to lick my shoes clean, so just stay out of our business."

Sig grinned. But it wasn't one of his usual happy-go-lucky grins that flashed in class all day. No, this one seemed to promise a truckload of pain. "Now that's where you're wrong, Ms. Sohryu. You see, you just tried to attack one of my friends." The 'Three Stooges' gasped. Sig already thought of them as friends?

"So," he continued, "you just made this my business." With that, Asuka snarled and jumped at him. Hikari kept screaming for Asuka to stop as the teachers were coming. The redhead didn't listen, though, and threw a fist at Sig.

The American brought up a flattened hand and blocked the punch, spinning himself in the direction of the blow. Using momentum to his advantage, Sig wheeled and fired a punch of his own, knocking Asuka off her feet and onto her back. Roaring in anger, the German scrambled to her feet and charged recklessly. Sig sighed. '_Why do they always wanna do things the hard way?_' he asked himself. Bending his knees and forming a stance, the martial artist's arm tensed as he drew his hand back and hammered his knuckles into the center of Asuka's chest.

The redhead crumpled on impact, unmoving. The rest of the students gasped. The only way they were assured that Asuka was still breathing was the steady heaving of her chest. Everyone looked at Sig, whose face was stone silent. Looking back at his new friends, he smirked.

"That, guys, was my master's patented ki disruption technique. I basically used a well-placed energy burst to cut off the ki circulation throughout her whole body. She's gonna feel like her body weighs a ton for a while, since ki is essentially what gives us the strength to move our muscles. With that mind, always remember...no ki, no strength." The three boys nodded. They were still stunned silent at watching their new classmate take down the most vicious person in school without even trying. And Shinji was going to be learning self-defense from this guy?!

Shinji felt himself amazed at what Sig had just done for him. The two hadn't even known each other for twenty minutes, and the larger boy had just protected him from his roommate and tormenter. The pilot suddenly couldn't wait for his first defense lesson.

'_Maybe if he teaches me martial arts, I can finally protect myself from Asuka..._'

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Well that's it for Chapter 1. How did you like it? Love it, hate it, or in the middle? Send me reviews and messages. I want all the feedback you can give me and appreciate any ideas you can throw my way.

Next time on **The Demon Master**, Chapter 2: Training Begins. Shinji begins his self-defense lessons under Sigurd, and quickly learns the importance of knowing the dangers of learning the martial arts.

Now for your surprise: You guys get to vote on which Eva honey Shinji ends up with. I'll even let you guys vote for Asuka, since I wanna be fair to all who read my fics. So anyway, here are our lucky bachelorettes:

Rei

Asuka

Hikari

Misato

Maya

Mana

Ritsuko

O/C

So make your votes today everyone! I wanna see lots of response to this. See you all next time!


	2. Training Begins

Hi everyone; Psycho Counter here with the next installment of The Demon Master. I hope you guys are ready to see some more, cause I'm ready and willing to bring it.

Author's Note: This chapter is mainly concerned with shedding some light on Sigurd's past and drilling some much needed knowledge and wisdom into Shinji's head, so don't expect a whole lot of action.

Okay, let's keep this thing rolling folks. On with the show!

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion. The credit companies won't even take my cash!

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**The Demon Master  
****By Psycho Counter**

**Chapter 2: Training Begins**

"Alright Shinji, care to explain why I got a call today saying you and Asuka had a fight at school?" Misato asked her young ward. The violet-haired captain was not particularly pleased when the teacher called and told her that her 'children' had gotten into an altercation.

"But Misato, I didn't get into a fight. Asuka tried to hit me for apparently messing up her lunch and one of my friends fought her off," Shinji replied. Misato raised an eyebrow.

"Last time I checked, my little Shinji, Toji wasn't strong enough to fight Asuka off. She's already clobbered him enough times for that to sink in," she countered.

Shinji flushed red. "It wasn't Toji. It was a new transfer student from America that I made friends with today."

"An American, huh? Well you'll just have to introduce me to this guy. What's his name?"

"Sigurd Morgan. He offered to teach me self-defense, so I accepted. I figured it would help with piloting the Eva," Shinji said.

Misato nodded in agreement. "That's a good point. Maybe this Sigurd's style will be better suited for you than Nerv's military one. Besides, I think you could use a little exercise," she added, lightly poking his chest with an impish smile.

Shinji turned tomato red. "Misato! Stop teasing me!" exclaimed the mild-mannered young man. The older woman giggled.

"Sorry Shinji, but I couldn't resist. But it's true anyway. You're way too skinny for your age. You need to put some meat on those bones," she told him.

Shinji nodded. "I know, but listen: My first lesson is today so I'll ask if he wants to have dinner over here sometime this week, okay?"

"That's fine. I'll have a talk with Asuka when she gets home about trying to hit you. Who knows, perhaps Sigurd can actually knock some sense into that girl…"

Shinji tried to stifle a snigger, but was wholly unsuccessful. "Misato, I doubt my _father_ could knock some sense into her," he shot back. Misato blinked.

"You do have a point there Shinji."

**(Tokyo-3 Municipal Park)  
**Shinji shuffled his feet. He was still a bit nervous at the prospect of learning how to fight, even if it was for defensive purposes. Sig stood about three meters away, carrying a large duffel bag. Grinning, he dropped the luggage and opened the zipper. Luckily there was nobody around so they had the large park all to themselves.

"Alright Shinji, before we get started, I need to lay some ground rules. First of all, while we're training, you will always call me 'Master,' and nothing else. Got it?" said Sig. Shinji nodded hesitantly.

"Yes, sir."

Sig smirked. "Yes, what?"

"Yes, Master." The American nodded.

"Better. Next, put these on." With that, he took out a bundle of clothes and tossed them to Shinji. When the boy tried to catch them, however, he got the wind knocked out of him as he suddenly felt the force of a bowling ball slam into his chest.

Collapsing to the ground, he heaved breathlessly and tried to stand with his surprisingly heavy load. "What the hell is this?!" he yelled.

Sig couldn't contain his mirth. "Those are weighted training clothes, Shinji. Right now they have a ki-made gravity seal on that makes them feel like 50 pounds altogether. You will be wearing them from here on out, even under your school uniform. You're even gonna bathe with them on," he explained. At the last part, Shinji's eyes bugged out.

"But why in the bath too? Wouldn't the water just make them heavier?"

"Exactly. If you can get used to the added weight, it will only help you. We need to build up your strength and endurance a little bit before teaching you anything beyond basic katas and the like…"

Shinji sighed. He should've known it wouldn't be that easy. But still, he couldn't argue with what Sig had told him…

Resigning to his fate, the brown-haired boy slowly changed into the training clothes, his breathing become slightly labored as his body tried to adapt to the added weight.

"Good. Now then, here's the plan. I'm gonna be teaching you some basic moves to help better your breathing and increase your strength. And here's a little warning: Every week after today, I'll be using my ki to pump up those weighted clothes an extra 20 pounds. You're body will get used to the weight over time, so we'll have to keep pushing it as hard as we can," Sig added. Shinji was stunned but nodded anyway. This training was going to be murder for sure, but Sig's logic was iron-clad. The pilot could already feel himself able to better carry his body a little bit even with his center of gravity weighed down.

"Master, may I ask a question?"

"Certainly Shinji. If you ever have a question, just ask. You don't need permission."

"I'm just wondering: Do you wear weighted training clothes too?"

Sig chuckled. "You're damn right I do. Right now, mine have got to weigh a good 500 pounds right now to help me warm up." Shinji was blown away by the response. 500 pounds for a warm up! What on earth _was_ this guy?

Smiling, Sig patted Shinji on the back. "Okay, let's get started. First, I want you to run 5 times around the edge of the park. After that, we'll do some stretches and then, finally, I'll teach you some more about my fighting style."

Shinji groaned inwardly. This wasn't gonna end well…

**(Two hours later)  
**Shinji collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. He had never been worked so hard in his entire life! While running and doing his stretches, he had felt that at any moment, his heart would give out. The boy's body screamed desperately for him to quit, but his mind was made up. If Sig's brutal training regimen would help him become a stronger person, then he wasn't about to give up and disappoint his master.

Sig dropped to the ground, smirking at his student. "Hurts don't it? Don't worry; after a while, you're body will get used to it. That's what we're aiming for right now. But still, I'm proud of you, Shinji. Not many would have the courage to go through that kind of punishment. My master did the same to me when I started training." Shinji glanced up. It was hard to believe that the young man in front of him had been put through this kind of punishment at an even younger age.

But if his current condition was any indication, then the method had to have _some_ merit.

"Alright Shinji, you completed the task I gave you so now it's time I held up my end of the bargain. I need to let you know about the style I'll be teaching you." Sig's face held a deep seriousness Shinji had never seen before.

"My teacher was the greatest master alive of the twin martial arts styles known as the Black Sword and the White Shield. Individually, they are powerful in their own right, each one geared towards either offense or defense. I'm pretty sure you can guess which is which." At Shinji's nod, he continued.

"The styles, when combined into one fluid motion, are a deadly weapon in the wrong hands but a godsend in the right ones. That's the first lesson you need to learn Shinji: Power is a double-edged sword. Power itself isn't good or evil. It can bring forth either salvation or destruction, at the whim of the user. Remember that, Shinji. _Always_ remember that."

Shinji was thunderstruck. Sig was the same age as him, but he displayed a wisdom that was obviously beyond his years. Privately, Shinji wondered just who Sig's master was.

"Shinji, you actually remind me a lot of myself when I was younger. When I was only seven years old, my parents were murdered simply for renting the wrong building. My parents owned a restaurant in the suburbs outside of Austin, where I grew up. We had bounced around Texas and a couple other states for a while, before settling down there again. Anyway, the building their restaurant was in was apparently owned by a local gang similar to your Yakuza. To make a long story short of the whole shebang, my folks couldn't meet their rent because of an economic downturn, and were killed because of it. I escaped only because the guys didn't know I had been visiting a relative in San Antonio at the time. However, when news reached us, my poor old grandfather had a heart attack and passed on. He was my last living relative in America, and so I was alone. At least…until my master took me in. Master Nakar was a great man. He taught me everything I know and raised me like his own grandson, and I'll be forever grateful to him for it, may God rest his soul. Anyway, after he died, I found out that I had some distant family living in Scotland, so the government contacted them and they came down to give me some money so I could come here and finish my education. I'm willing to bet though that they just wanted to be rid of me."

Shinji listened intently. It saddened him to realize that Sig was in reality alone like him, but it just made him all the more determined to succeed in this new endeavor. If his master could keep going even when things looked hopeless, then he would too. Remembering the promise he had made to Misato, Shinji looked up at his master as he struggled to his feet.

"Master?"

"Hmm. What is it Shinji?" he replied.

"Would you like to over for dinner someday this week? My guardian said she'd like to meet you," Shinji asked.

Sig tapped his chin, mulling the idea over in his head a few times. "Sure, I don't see why we can't do it tomorrow. I just hope Asuka has enough sense not to do or say anything stupid. But enough about us, back to training."

Shinji groaned. '_Here we go again...'_

**(Later that evening)  
**"Very impressive Shinji. You seem to have a natural talent for martial arts," Sig told Shinji as the too made their way out of the park and towards the smaller boy's apartment. He smiled shyly at the praise.

"Thanks Master. You're just a good teacher," he responded.

Sig laughed heartily. "I don't know about that. You _are_ my first pupil after all."

Together the two walked briskly in cool, crisp night air. The city was silent, only the occasional bar hopper or homeless drunk swaggering by. Nighttime in Tokyo-3 was considered both safe and dangerous at the same time: Safe because of Nerv's presence, and yet dangerous for the very same reason. The organization was run by a lunatic after all...

Walking up the stairs was a little difficult for Shinji, who was still exhausted from the day's training and attempting to lug an extra 50 pounds of dead weight up with him at the same time. Sig had said that Shinji should always use the stairs from now on, as part of his training. Shinji knew the plan was to build his physical strength up, but it was a lot of work.

'_Then again,_' he thought as he trudged upwards, '_no pain, no gain._'

Upon reaching the door, Shinji turned and smiled at Sig. "Thanks for seeing me home, Master. I'm pretty sure Misato would get upset if I came home and didn't tell her what I was doing."

Sig grinned. "Sounds kinda like a mother hen if you ask me."

Shinji blushed. "Yeah a little bit, but she's more like a big sister. She's always teasing me."

With that said, the pair knocked on the door. They waited a couple seconds, only for the door to violently swing open, a beautiful but irate woman on the other side.

"Alright young man, just where have you been?!" Misato exclaimed.

Sig stood straight and looked Misato in the eyes. "Ms. Katsuragi, my name's Sigurd Morgan. I'm afraid it's my fault Shinji stayed out so late. We kinda got into a rhythm while training and lost track of time. If we did anything to worry you, please accept my humble apologies for causing you undue stress." The boy punctuated his explanation with a formal bow.

Misato was slack jawed. An American with proper Japanese manners?! Who would have thought that such a thing was possible? Smiling prettily, she bowed back.

"I accept your apology, Sigurd. I'm grateful that you thought to bring Shinji home yourself and explain things yourself. I'll admit that I was a little worried because of what I heard happened at school with Asuka. But you have certainly surprised me. So…how's Shinji's little workout coming along?" she asked.

"He's doing wonderfully, Ms. Katsuragi. Shinji isn't at a level where I can teach him the more advanced techniques, but he has a natural affinity for the basic katas and sparring techniques I've shown him so far," Sig told her, all the while smiling down at Shinji.

"In fact," he continued, "I wouldn't be surprised if he was ready for the next level of my training within several weeks. It took me years to develop the skill I have now, but with Shinji it might take only months for him to start advancing rapidly through the regimen at the pace I was."

Misato was impressed. "That's wonderful Shin-chan! See? I told you that you could do it," she exclaimed happily. "And by the way Sigurd, you can just call me Misato."

Sig smiled as Shinji blushed madly under all the praise. "Then call me Sig, Misato. Anyway, I need to head back to my apartment right now, but I'll come back tomorrow for dinner. By the way, how's Sohryu doing?"

"Asuka? Her ego's a little bruised I guess but she'll be fine. She seemed a little sluggish today though." Sig pointed to himself.

"That would've been my fault. I cut off her ki circulation to stop her attack this afternoon so she's gonna feel like a dead weight until tomorrow morning. Ki is what provides us the energy to move our muscles, so a lack of circulation is making it hard for her to move around easily."

Misato nodded in response. "Okay then, thanks for explaining that too. I'm just glad it's nothing serious. See you tomorrow," she said. She and Shinji waved as Sig made his way back down the stairs.

**(Morgan apartment)  
**Sig sighed as he lay down on his bed. Blinking, he cast a furtive glance around his cozy little hole in the wall. A small television set sat in the corner, facing the recliner he used as a reading chair. A tall bookshelf sat against the near wall next to the apartment door, lined to the brim with mystery and historical fiction. In the kitchen, a meager number of dishes lay unattended in the sink, waiting to be washed. His closet was small and almost devoid of clothes. Sig had never been one for lots of personal belongings.

Sighing again, he heard a rustling noise outside his window. Cocking an eyebrow, he got up and casually walked upstairs to the roof of his apartment complex, where the buildings air conditioning and heating units were kept. His apartment was on the top floor, so he didn't have a long way to go. As soon as he stepped outside the door and into the night, he realized he wasn't alone. Standing at the other end of the rooftop stood a woman.

Roughly thirty years old, she had a youthful face that projected seriousness. Her eyes were a sharp, piercing green that reminded Sig of the pine trees he had seen on his travels with Master Nakar. Her forehead was high and her oval-shaped face was free of the wrinkles of age. She wore an elegant black dress that extended to just below her knees, a deep slit running down the right side. Her long auburn hair was trussed up in a bun. All in all, she gave off the look of a sexy librarian.

His trademark smirk gone, Sig walked over and offhandedly waved at the visitor. "So…what brings you here Lillian? Come to lecture me again?" he asked.

The woman shook her head. "No," she said in a soft tenor voice, "I came here with a warning."

Sig regarded the ominous sentence without as much as a batted eyelash. "About…?"

"This Shinji boy you've started training. Do you really think he's the one?"

Sig turned around. "I know it for a fact. Master told me that I'd know when I saw him, and by the forgotten gods I know that Shinji Ikari is the one I'm looking for."

"Nakar has been wrong before. He was only human after all, unlike us…" Lillian spoke with an air of superiority. Sig scowled at her.

"Human he may have been, but he was wiser than many of our kind, and you know that Lils. I trusted the man with my life and I trust his judgment."

Lillian gazed at him intelligently, as if she knew something Sig didn't. "And what if he _isn't_ the Heir? What will you do?"

Sig smirked. "I don't have to worry about that. He is the Heir and will be the one to decide this world's fate." Lillian traced the side of the heating unit with her finger, thinking deeply.

"You do know that _she_ will come looking for you, right?" Sig sighed. He had wanted to avoid that particular subject for now.

"I knew it was inevitable. But-" Lillian cut him off sharply.

"But nothing, Sigurd Morgan! That girl adores you, and you'd be a fool to ignore that," she rebuked him.

Sig growled. "Damn it Lils, you and her know more than anything that I'm a marked man! I was destined for that the moment I was born. I can do no more about being The Demon Master than you can for being who _you_ are. I can't give Milly the kind of attention that she needs and deserves," he snapped.

Lillian smirked this time, only it was one of victory. "Regardless, Sigurd, Milly loves you more than anything. You are all that she has left in her mind, what with a family that abandoned her simply for being special. Personally, I doubt she could do better than you," she said.

Sig sighed. "I'll think about it. So when do you suspect she'll get here?"

"In about two months. Think long and hard on this Sigurd, because if there's anyone who deserves a chance at happiness, it's you," she finished.

The tall American smiled grimly as he turned back around. Lillian was gone, but her voice could still be faintly heard in the wind.

"We'll see who's in the right about the Heir Lils. We'll see…"

* * *

Okay everyone that does it for Chapter 2. Hope you guys are liking things so far. For those of you wondering why characters like Rei and the Nerv people haven't shown up yet don't worry. They'll be in the next chapter.

Next time on **The Demon Master**, Chapter 3: Paying Dividends with Interest. Shinji's training takes effect as Sig continues to push him, and the higher-ups in Nerv take notice during the Eighth Angel's attack.

Alright guys, time to buckle down on the voting block. I'll join in and toss my vote out there for Rei. As of the end of this writing, the voting stands as follows:

Rei-5

Asuka-2

Hikari-2

Misato-3

Maya-1

Mana-2

Ritsuko-2

O/C-0

Looks like our favorite blue-haired albino is currently in the lead, with Misato trailing shortly behind. A few of these votes have come in through private message, but I wanna see more reviews people! Tell me how I'm doing. I haven't decided yet when to end the voting, but I'll let you know in the chapter before I'm gonna cut it off.

Until next time then! See ya around!


	3. Paying Dividends with Interest

Hey guys, its Psycho Counter again, bringing you the next chapter of The Demon Master. I'm really pleased with how this thing is turning out and I want to keep you guys guessing on what's going on.

Author's Notes: Today the rest of the Nerv crew makes their first appearance in the story. Yay! I hope that everyone likes how I'm doing. Send me reviews with some feedback! And yes, you guys can vote once every chapter, since I don't seem to be getting a lot of response from this, other than the occasional review or PM. But either way, I kinda like how the votes are turning out.

And just for those who have been wondering, all characters that aren't recognizable from the Eva-verse are completely original and my own creations.

Okay then, now that the paperwork has been shoved into the shredder, let's keep this party going all night long!

Disclaimer: I own nothing Evangelion-related. Trust me: If I did, then Unit-01 would've sat on Gendo at some point…

* * *

**The Demon Master  
****By Psycho Counter**

**Chapter 3: Paying Dividends with Interest**

Tokyo-3 Junior High was probably one of the most heavily protected areas in the city, though not many would know that just by looking at it. In fact, the building seemed relatively calm all things considered. What made this tiny school such a hotspot for Nerv security, however, was the presence of three particular teenagers, on whose lives hung the fate of every man, woman, and child on Earth: Rei Ayanami, Asuka Sohryu, and Shinji Ikari.

"Alright Baka Shinji! You had better tell me what the hell you've been doing these past couple of weeks! If I don't get something decent for lunch today, you're gonna regret it!" Asuka screamed. It was ten minutes till class started and the boisterous redhead was already making a spectacle of herself…again.

"Asuka shut up and sit down before you break all our eardrums. I don't know about you, but I happen to like being able to hear, although I wish I had a mute button for you and the teacher sometimes," Sig shot to the amusement of his classmates. Ever since the tall, long-haired American had joined the class, Asuka had felt that the status quo was being disrupted. She was supposed to be the most popular person in school! This loud-mouthed foreigner had managed to destroy her reputation in a matter of days with the way he protected Shinji like a rapid watchdog. Even Hikari had given up on defending the redhead when Sig had brought to light her repeated attacks on Shinji's person at home whenever Misato wasn't around.

"Can it, Morgan! Not everyone cares what you think," she growled.

"Perhaps…but I seriously doubt that those same people want to have their ears violated by someone with the social skills of a rabid dog," he said. Sig leaned back in his chair as the rest of the class laughed uproariously at the look of unbridled fury on Asuka's face. Hikari had also long since given up trying to stop the verbal attacks Asuka and Sig directed at each other. She and everybody else had figured out quickly that the German was no match for Sig, be it in an argument or a fistfight.

The door slowly opened to reveal the aging professor. Dutifully, Hikari shot to her feet and began the morning ritual. As the old man nodded to his Class Representative and started the lecture, everyone decided to take a nap. Everyone that is, except one blue-haired, red-eyed Eva pilot.

'_Ikari-kun seems less…subdued recently_,' Rei thought to herself as she found herself staring at the object of her thoughts. Ever since Sig had arrived, Shinji had begun staying out for long periods of time when not at Nerv for testing. Rei had asked Misato about it, citing that she was making sure her fellow pilot was safe. The excuse was partially true, since Commander Ikari's order to protect the Third Child had never quite been rescinded since the Fifth Angel. In truth, however, Rei found herself more and more curious about the timid boy who had tried to be her friend ever since his first experience piloting the Eva. Misato had explained to her that Shinji was learning martial arts under Sig and that the boy was always exhausted whenever he came home.

'_Perhaps Morgan-kun's training is working. Ikari-kun may not realize it, but he is much stronger than before_,' she concluded wordlessly. And it was true. Shinji's body had begun to fill out quickly as the lessons forced his body to adapt to Sig's punishing exercises. The new diet of salads, energy bars, protein shakes, and calorie-high foods that Sig had enforced on Shinji wasn't exactly hurting either. Obviously, this didn't go unnoticed by the females at school. Rei was, if anything, observant and she saw that the Third Child was getting quite a few hungry looks from the girls around campus. Even beneath the emotional suppressors Gendo forced on her, the quiet girl was willing to admit to herself that she would occasionally take a peek at his firm behind when she knew he wasn't looking.

Shinji Ikari really was hopeless when it came to girls, wasn't he?

'_Perhaps I should ask Ikari-kun if I can accompany him to a lesson in the near future,_' Rei thought. It would be the perfect opportunity to finally bridge the gap between them. Shinji had tried so hard to be her friend as long as they knew each other, and it was time she responded to those efforts.

'_Yes, that would be very agreeable..._'

At his own desk, Sig quietly digested his thoughts from the past few days. Lillian had made an impromptu visit again the other night and warned the young man that Milly would be arriving in a month. Inwardly, Sig thanked whatever gods were listening that he still had time to train Shinji before she got to Japan. After that, most of his time would probably be spent trying to ward off the girl who had attached herself to him rather ravenously. As far as Shinji had trouble with girls, it was nothing compared to Sig's problems. He wouldn't lie to himself: he _loved_ Milly; more than anything in the world really. But he felt that he couldn't protect her properly. Not with his destiny hanging over his head like an ugly guillotine.

'_Humph...destiny. It's nothing but a royal pain in the ass,_' he said to himself. Closing his eyes, he began to fall asleep to the sound of the teacher's mechanical voice. Before he could drift off into peaceful slumber, though, an ear-shattering noise echoed throughout the room. Shinji and his fellow pilots stared at their bags: Nerv was calling.

The Third Child chanced a glance at his master before picking up his phone.

"Hello…? Yes we're all here Misato…No, we can get down there quickly enough…Yeah. Just have Section-2 pick us up outside." Shinji flipped the device shut before looking at the others.

"Nerv needs us at HQ. Misato wasn't very clear what it was about though. We should get going," he said. Asuka snorted.

"Who died and made you leader, Third? You're gonna follow me!" With that, the fiery German stalked out of the room in a huff. Shinji and Rei looked at each other for a moment before shaking their heads and following the girl out.

As they shut the door behind them, Sig whistled softly to himself. "Now things are gonna start to get interesting…"

**(Nerv HQ: Briefing Room)  
**Asuka stared at her guardian skeptically. For a split second, she fiddled with the idea that perhaps she had finally drunk herself retarded, if it were possible. That idea went the window; however, as she noticed the older woman was deadly serious.

"So let me get this straight Misato. You want us to go down into an active volcano and put a sleeping Angel in a cage?" she asked her with an obvious look of disbelief.

Misato glared at him. "Yes Asuka, that's exactly what I'm saying. The Magi already gave the plan the highest probability of success, considering our other options," she retorted.

Shinji and Rei watched as Asuka argued with their commanding officer over the so-called 'brilliance' of Misato's plan. Mind you, the two more quiet pilots also found the idea of attacking the enemy head on like this to be outright stupidity in action.

"So you want us to go somewhere dangerous in its own right, to something that wants to kill us, and essentially poke it with a stick? Did you ever think about the distinct possibility that it might, oh I don't know…WAKE UP!" she yelled. Despite their differences, Rei thought Asuka had brought up a valid point.

"Already accounted for…if it wakes up, we kill it," Misato chirped happily. Shinji couldn't believe his ears and finally spoke up.

"Misato that really doesn't help us a whole lot to be honest," he said.

"Shinji…shut up. Besides, you aren't the one going on this mission. Asuka will be going in Unit-02 since it's the only one fitted for the Type-D equipment," she snapped.

Shinji chuckled. "Fine with me. I've had enough of psychotic divine messengers heaven-bent on killing me and the rest of humanity." Misato couldn't help but smile. She had to agree with him on that count. Not much could turn you off of a job more than having a servant of God trying to rearrange your anatomy.

"Definitely. I'd say we all agree with that assessment Shinji. Alright, I want all three of you to suit up. Units-01 and -00 will provide support for this operation. Move out!" she exclaimed.

**(Three hours later)  
**"Misato, a little help would be nice right about now!" Asuka bellowed as the Eighth Angel slammed into the crimson behemoth once more. The operation had started off without a hitch surprisingly. Asuka had actually managed to secure the electromagnetic cage Ritsuko had devised around the Angel before it decided that being put on display like a common zoo animal wasn't its idea of a good time. Thus Asuka was left in her current predicament and trying to figure out how to slow down this monster, which seemed to be immune to her progressive knife.

"You know Rei, for someone who flaunts her college degree a lot, she sure is dense," Shinji said to his fellow pilot, making sure that the com link to Unit-02 was open.

"What was that, baka?! If you're so smart, then get your ass down here and help me!" Asuka screamed at him.

Shinji smirked. "Really Asuka, didn't you pay attention in physics class today? You're in an environment where that thing is exceptionally hot. What are those tubes attached to your Eva full of?"

Asuka contemplated the question for a moment before realization dawned on her face. "Of course! Thermal expansion! For once, baka Shinji, you actually have a decent idea," she told him as she cut one of her coolant tubes.

"Force all coolant to valve 3, Akagi!"

"Got it Asuka; we're redirecting the flow now," Ritsuko said as the redhead jammed the tube into the Angel's mouth, force-feeding gallons of the frozen concoction down its throat.

Suddenly, the Angel screeched and, wrapping its massive tail around Unit-02's leg, shot up towards the surface. The coolant tube was still lodged in its teeth as it burst free from the volcano and crash-landed onto the mouth of the volcano, tossing the red Eva like a rag doll right into its companions. The three pilots were shocked to find that the Angel was hovering above the ground as it landed.

"What's going on here? That thing can _fly_!?" Misato exclaimed.

"It must be using its AT-Field to project itself off the ground," Ritsuko replied. "Keep on your toes kids. That thing will more than likely be just as fast in the air it seems as it is in the magma."

"The Angel's surfaced to our level, so prepare for close-range combat guys!" Misato barked as the three Evas scrambled to their feet. It looked similar in appearance to the Sixth, really: like a gigantic, hideously ugly fish.

Unit-01 opened its shoulder pylon and drew the progressive knife forward, prepping for an assault. Gauging its opponents, the Angel went for Asuka first and head butted her across the ground. Asuka cried out in pain as the Angel's molten skin burned into Unit-02's armor through the Type-D equipment.

"Damn it, that thing's still too hot to touch. We can't get close without being barbequed!" she yelled in frustration as the creature turned its sights on Rei. The albino shrieked as her Eva was body slammed by a couple dozen tons of magma-hot Angel flesh. Shinji growled and charged, ignoring the searing heat around the Angel and slamming his prog knife into the thing's side. Luckily, Asuka's coolant had softened the Angel's body enough for them to do damage now.

The Angel didn't like being stabbed though, and used its tail to swat the horned Unit away like a fly. Hovering above the prone, smoldering body of Unit-00, it turned and fixed its seemingly nonexistent eyes on Shinji. Grunting in pain from that last attack, Shinji racked his brain for any idea of what to do.

'_What would Master do if he were here?_' he asked himself. Before he could come up with a Sig-like witty retort, though, the Angel shot towards him like a bullet. Gasping, the Third Child extended his arms to try and soften the blow…only it didn't come.

Shinji blanched as the Eighth Angel prepared to bulldoze him, only to smash head-first into an AT-Field. However, it wasn't like any AT-Field Shinji had ever seen: Instead of the requisite orange hexagonal field, he saw a bright, highly visible circular one of deep mauve in front of him. Back in Central Dogma, the bridge crew was going ballistic.

"What the hell is that?" Misato cried out.

Makoto tried to face her. "We're not sure, ma'am. The Magi are running a scan as we speak!"

Maya's face drained of color. "You guys won't believe this, but whatever is causing that AT-Field has a massive amount of energy. It's completely dwarfing the Angel's!" Ritsuko shot a look of astonishment in her protégé's direction.

"You gotta be kidding!" Shigeru looked at his work station.

"Magi have completed their scan. It's a blood pattern…color grey?!"

Misato blinked. "What the hell has a grey blood pattern?"

"We're not sure, but it's coming from Unit-01!"

"WHAT!" Misato did the only thing reasonable at that point: she fainted.

Back at the battleground, Shinji still stood staring at the Angel. The massive beast wasn't moving much. Whatever had happened, it had nearly crippled the Angel, that much was certain. Not only that, but before he could think about the situation any further, he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Shinji! I see that you're a little confused."

"Master?!" '_Don't tell me Master is creating that AT-Field! It's impossible!_'

Every mental alarm in Shinji's head was blaring as he heard his friend and teacher talking to him, even though he couldn't see him anywhere. Listening more closely, Shinji could tell he was laughing.

"I know what you're thinking Shinji, and no: I'm not the one doing this; it's all you. All that training I put you through is paying off. You and you're AT-Field have evolved to the next stage of human evolution. Master Nakar and myself went through the same thing when we ascended. And as for how I can talk with you, I'm somewhat of a hacker and managed to punch through Nerv to your Eva's frequency with a dusty old laptop and a walkie, if you can believe."

Shinji blinked stupidly before he understood: Sig was right. He could finally feel the power flowing through his veins, and it both scared and excited him. Sig snapped him out of his thoughts with by barking out a question.

"Shinji, you remember that aerial submission slam I showed you last week?"

The Third Child winced. He remembered it all right. He still dreamt about the pickpocket Sig had used it on as a demonstration. The boy was also willing to bet a large fortune that the guy was still using what was left of his skeleton to drag himself to the nearest hospital…

"Yes, Master."

"Well what are ya waiting for? Use it on _that_ asshole!" Sig exclaimed. Shinji looked at the Angel. It was still screeching in agony from its attack on his new AT-Field. Steeling himself with the understanding that he could finally protect those he cared about, Shinji launched Unit-01 forward with a roar of power. '_I can do this!_' he yelled to himself, despite having only seen the move done once and never actually attempting it himself.

The Angel was still trying to struggle back up, but Shinji wasn't going to let that happen. Bringing his leg back, he punted the massive sardine straight into the air with a powerful kick before jumping after it. Quickly catching up to the Angel, Shinji wrapped his arms around the beast and flipped their bodies around, pointing them back towards the earth.

Asuka, Rei, and the bridge crew watched in fascination as Shinji began to spin the Angel at a frantic speed, the two plummeting towards the unforgiving ground at the same time. Growling triumphantly, Shinji finally let go and flipped himself gracefully to his feet as the Eighth exploded with the force of a meteor upon its reintroduction to the ground, an immense dust cloud forming from the impact.

Ritsuko had managed to revive Misato with smelling salts as the attack ended, so even she got to see Shinji's new skills in action. Everyone was flabbergasted, mouths hanging open, as Unit-01 calmly stood back up and looked back at the large crater.

Makoto finally found his voice. "The blue pattern has vanished, Captain. The Angel…has been silenced." Nobody said anything more. They were all too busy trying to figure out what had happened to Shinji.

Up in the command post, Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki waited silently. Gazing down at his former student, Kozo cleared his throat lightly.

"It appears that your son has gained some new skills," he said.

The only inclination he received that Gendo was listening was a slight tilting of the head. "Indeed. Have Section-2 bring the Third into Akagi's lab for a full examination. I want to find out what exactly has happened to him. It might possibly be Angel contamination."

Fuyutsuki looked incredulous. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

"Not with a certainty. This is something we have never encountered before…" he responded.

**(Nerv HQ: Commander Ikari's Office)  
**Gendo opened the door to his cave-like office and walked in, glancing at his estranged son just briefly in passing before settling down into his soft leather chair. Fuyutsuki took his usual place behind and to the right of the cold-hearted military commander. Section-2 had brought Shinji in after Ritsuko had done her tests. They were simply waiting for the results.

Gendo regarded his son with an icy stare. "Are you aware of why you have been brought here, Third Child?"

Shinji cowed slightly before his father's look before straightening his back and looking the elder Ikari dead in the eyes. His master wouldn't approve of his being intimidated by the man in front of him. "No, sir, I am not aware. Would you care to fill in the blanks for me?"

The father-son standoff continued; neither refused to look the other way as an internal battle of wills raged on. Finally, Gendo broke the silence.

"During the battle with the Eighth Angel, you projected an unusual AT-Field and proceeded to use extraordinary combat skills that you previously had not shown an aptitude for. Care to explain yourself, Third Child?"

Shinji carefully organized his thoughts. Revealing too much of what Sig had told him might make him an enemy of Nerv, and that wasn't a hassle the boy needed at the moment.

"For the past month, I've been taking martial arts lessons from a classmate who has advanced skill in them. His style is better suited for someone of my body size and frame so that is why I was able to use that attack. As for the weird AT-Field we saw during the battle, I have no idea myself as to what caused it." As Shinji finished his explanation, Ritsuko walked in, carrying a sizable briefcase of reports in her hand.

"Commander Ikari…after carefully reviewing the results of the tests administered to one Shinji Ikari, designated Third Child, I have determined that he passed all examinations and is not contaminated by an Angel or anything else. In fact, he's in the best overall health I've ever seen from him," the bottle blonde recited. Bureaucratic formality was such a pain in the ass, if you had to ask her, even if it was required of her as head of Project E.

Gendo nodded. "I see. Very well then, Third Child, you are free to go. And I expect to see more improvement from your fighting skills in future Angel battles. Abilities like that can only improve our chances of beating the Angels," he spoke in his usual gruff tone.

Shinji nodded. "Yes sir, Commander."

As Shinji walked out of the office, nobody noticed the evil smirk that briefly passed his lips. He really hoped Sig's little idea worked. It was particularly helpful that his father was so paranoid and yet arrogant that he never kept security cameras situated in his office. That Section-2 left him inside without any escort was equally stupid on their part…

Back inside, Gendo sighed. At least his top pilot wasn't a threat. Shinji was essential to his scenario and anything that would threaten the boy was a threat to everything Gendo had worked for in the past ten years. Sliding his chair back quickly, he prepared to take Ritsuko back to her office for some 'personal business.' Unfortunately for him, karma decided to come and bite him in the ass at that moment.

Before he could finish putting enough distance between himself and the desk to get up, his chair ran into something soft and abruptly stopped. As a result, the esteemed Commander of Nerv was sent flying back as gravity did its work on a chair whose momentum had suddenly been halted.

Kozo and Ritsuko stared in shock as Gendo was thrown from the chair and slammed painfully on the stone tile floor head-first. Looking at each other in horror, they went to inspect the bearded man, only to find him completely unconscious. They glanced back at the chair and blinked. Sitting on the floor innocently enough, as if laughing at the two, was a banana peel.

They stared at each other again. "I won't tell anyone if you won't, Doctor," Kozo said.

"Agreed." With that, the pair walked out the office alone, leaving Gendo to lie in the middle of his office floor, a small pool of blood forming under his skull.

* * *

Alright guys that's it for Chapter 3. Hope you enjoyed it, because I liked writing it. And yes, I pulled the old banana peel gag on Gendo, but let's face it: the guy's a douche bag and needed to be humiliated in some way.

Next time on **The Demon Master**, Chapter 4: Upping the Ante. Sig finally begins to teach Shinji actual fighting techniques while Rei watches and Lillian shows up to spar with Sig.

Okay everyone, time for what you've been waiting for: The voting! As if the end of Chapter 3, the votes stand as follows:

Rei-12

Asuka-7

Hikari-7

Misato-9

Maya-5

Mana-7

Ritsuko-4

O/C-1

Rei seems to have strengthened her lead over the rest of the pack, with Misato still in second and a three way tie at third between Asuka, Hikari, and Mana. Keep the votes coming folks. I'm still waiting to hear everyone's voice. And send more reviews!

Alright then, until next time! Laters!


	4. Upping the Ante

Howdy ya'll! Psycho Counter's back with another thrilling edition of The Demon Master. If any of you guys were a little disappointed with the last chapter, don't worry. We'll have more twists and turns waiting for you at the end of this puppy.

Anyway, I'm glad to see that the voting is starting to pick up a little speed. I still haven't settled on a stopping point yet as I'm still trying to gauge when I want the romance to start, but trust me when I say it'll be soon. Probably within the next three or four chapters…

I don't have any particular author notes that need to be put down other than thanks for everybody's support, so let's keep this thing going!

Disclaimer: I don't own Eva. If I see a lawyer anywhere near my apartment, I swear I'll retaliate with C-4 and an Uzi.

* * *

**The Demon Master  
****By Psycho Counter**

**Chapter 4: Upping the Ante**

"Ikari-kun…"

Shinji stopped in mid-step and turned around, regarding Rei with a quizzical glance. School was out and the boy was on his way to the park for his next training session. "What's wrong Ayanami?"

Most people wouldn't have noticed the tiny changes in Rei's facial features. However, Shinji Ikari was not most people. He knew instantly that the red-eyed girl was smiling at him; rather sweetly too, considering her usual personality.

"If it is acceptable to you, I would like to accompany you to your lesson with Morgan-kun today," she responded. Blinking, Shinji could only nod his head. If there were a single person alive that the shy pilot of Unit-01 found it impossible to say 'no' to, it was Rei Ayanami.

"That's fine Ayanami. Sig said that he had a surprise waiting for today's lesson," he said. Together, the two walked out the door, not noticing Asuka watching them with her patented glare pointed directly at their backs.

'_It's high time I found out just what exactly that baka has been up to this last month…_' she thought as she sneakily tiptoed out the door and after her fellow pilots.

**(Tokyo-3 Municipal Park)  
**Sig picked himself off the ground as he saw his pupil enter the park entryway. Unlike past lessons the powerful American wasn't wearing his school uniform, but his training uniform. It consisted of a short sleeve black shirt and indigo training pants, with a stark white vest covering the shirt. What puzzled the young man slightly was the fact that Rei was following his student. Sig had never really gotten to pay a lot of attention to Rei at school, considering her preference for being alone. However, his mental klaxons began screaming as soon as he took a closer look at the girl.

'_What the hell! This is…highly unusual,_' he thought as the pair walked up. Shrugging to himself, Sig decided that if Shinji trusted her, then that was good enough for him. Shinji was the pickiest person he knew when it came to doling out trust.

Walking up to them, Sig waved. "Hey Shinji, I see you brought Rei with you today. What's the occasion?" he asked. Shinji shook his head.

"Nothing special. Ayanami just wanted to come watch our session today. Is that alright, Master?" he answered.

Sig nodded. "It's fine with me. Hell, I'll give her a weighted training outfit of her own if she wants to join us completely. You know what they say: The more, the merrier!"

Rei simply tilted her head to the side. "Weighted training outfit? You would not object to teaching me as well as Ikari-kun?"

Sig laughed heartily as he gave Rei an once-over with his eyes. "It's not a problem at all, Rei! And stop with the formalities. We're all friends aren't we?" he said, digging another suit from his duffel. Rei couldn't help but feel slightly touched at the taller boy's friendly nature.

She didn't know it just yet, but Dr. Akagi had been gradually lowering the dosage of Gendo's emotional suppressor pills, allowing the albino's emotions to slowly make their way to the surface.

"I see that you've decided to take on a new pupil, Sigurd. What's the matter? One not enough for you?" an eloquent voice rang out from behind a nearby sakura tree. Shinji nearly jumped out of his skin as a tall, beautiful redheaded woman stepped out and into the open. Sig's eyes narrowed at the visitor.

"Since when do you care about what I do, Lils? It's not like you actually know either of them," he retorted. He didn't like where this was going. Lillian never exposed herself to others if she could help it. What was her game?

Shinji looked at his teacher quizzically. "Master, who is this? A friend?" he asked.

Sig turned his eyes on Shinji for a moment. "Not so much a friend as…an associate. This is Lillian Cromartie of Canada. Her family had known Master Nakar for years, and she helped me out a bit after he died," he explained. The ties ran deeper than that, though; he just felt Shinji was ready for that information quite yet.

The sultry woman smirked. "If your appearance is any sign, then I'm willing to guess that the boy's training is about to truly get under way." At Shinji's confused look, she elaborated. "Sigurd here is planning on beginning your lessons in the actual usage of White Shield martial arts, Mr. Ikari." Shinji's eyes widened. His master thought he was ready to learn the styles already?

Sig chuckled. "Spoil the surprise for me why don't ya, Lils? But yes Shinji, I will begin teaching you the White Shield style today." Sig trailed off as he saw Lillian hold up a hand in defiance.

"First, Sigurd, I believe you and I should have a friendly spar: To show the boy just what you can do in a serious fight."

Shinji didn't want to voice his opinion, but the woman in front of him didn't exactly look like she was wearing proper attire for a spar. How could she fight in that dress?

Sig sighed and clapped a hand to his forehead. "Alright Lils, but I'm not responsible for the conseque-" he began before the auburn-haired beauty rushed him.

The young man sidestepped her high kick just barely, her sudden attack surprising him. Not letting up, she dropped down and tried to sweep Sig's legs from underneath him. He jumped up to avoid the strike as she leaped after him, swinging forward with a right hook.

Sig parried the blow and countered with a knee strike, which Lillian avoided deftly. Back-flipping over Sig's head, she tried to bring her foot on his skull in a powerful axe kick, only for the boy to block with crossed arms. Twisting his arms around, Sig grabbed hold of Lillian's leg and swung her like a club, bringing her to the ground hard.

She simply smirked and pulled her leg in, knocking Sig off balance as she slammed her foot into his chest. Sig grunted painfully as he skidded across the ground. Calmly getting to his feet, he flattened his hands and crossed them in front of his face.

"So you wanna play a little hardball, eh? Alright then, I'm game. Gravity seal…_release_!" he yelled as a shockwave of ki pulsed around him. The ground itself seemed to be pressed down into a small crater around Sig's body as his body was made considerably lighter. Lillian didn't even blink. She had expected him to be using those dratted weights, but now the fight could really begin.

Shinji and Rei stood by in stock silence as they saw Sig being matched blow for blow by this woman. Asuka had been taken down almost instantly, but Lillian was a perfectly even match for Sig at this point. Speaking of the proud German…

'_Ha! I knew that Morgan was a fake. He can't even beat that lady and she's wearing a dress!_' Asuka said to herself as she intently watched the spar.

"So," Lillian started, "you finally decided to get serious, Sigurd Morgan?"

Not saying anything, Sig crouched into a running position and, his legs tense with power, tore off towards the redhead at alarming speeds. Shinji's eyes bulged as he saw Sig's feet literally tear the ground apart beneath him as he barreled into Lillian.

The two traded punches and kicks at speeds the Third Child could only imagine, each blow slamming into their intended target with enough force to rip a bar of steel in half. Eventually, the brawl slowed down to a more graceful battle, the two 'friends' carefully avoiding each others attacks like the dances one would see at a ball.

Sig would leap forward with a jab, only to twist himself sideways as Lillian shot a leg at his ribcage. Then the woman would press her attack, launching a barrage of punches before being forced back on the defensive by Sig's attempted head-butt and shoulder charge combo.

Rei couldn't believe what she was seeing. Sig had always appeared to her to be a gruff, plain warrior in the way that he carried himself. That perception went flying, however, as she watched him move with a grace and agility that would make professional athletes' and dancers' blood boil in jealousy.

Smirking, Sig ducked under another kick and grabbed Lillian's leg, tossing her skyward and spinning her body around with a flick of his wrist. She wasn't fazed at all as she went with the flow of the counter and flipped herself to have eye contact with the young man. Sighing, she pulled her hands back, concentrating ki into her palms as they erupted in an ethereal white glow. Looking at him dejectedly, she frowned as she thrust her hands forward and fired an enormous ball of ki at Sig's face, point blank.

"Heaven's Wrath!" she screamed, blown backwards as the energy ball exploded instantly. She landed hard against a tree as she groaned in pain, gazing at the carnage her attack had created. A sizable crater had been left, but Sig was nowhere in sight.

Shinji stumbled backwards as the apparent reality of the situation hit him. Sig had lost? Suddenly, he realized that Lillian wouldn't have vaporized the American; not in a spar. But then…where was Sig?

His mental question was answered as a shadowy form shot down from the sky and crash landed right in front of a stunned Lillian. Sig smirked as he jabbed her hard in the stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of her. Grabbing her by the hair, he threw her forcefully into the air before taking off after her.

Wheeling his body around, Sig delivered a roundhouse kick to her head, spinning her body in mid-flight as the young man continued pummeling her with kicks that made it look like he was juggling her in mid-air with his legs. Finally, he used his ki to propel himself over his opponent and flipping himself at supersonic speeds, he smashed his heel into Lillian's skull as her body erected itself perpendicular to the ground below.

"Acrobat Locus!" Sig puncuated his attack with a cry as the woman's mass was fired back downwards. Knocked unconscious by the attack, Lillian could do nothing to slow her descent as she crashed into the earth, forming a crater 10 meters in radius on impact.

Sig landed gracefully as he flashed a smirk at his surprised students. "See guys…I told you that the Black Sword and White Shield styles were a powerful combination."

Shinji could only gape like a fish. After a couple seconds, he remembered what word Lillian had used to describe their battle. This was a _spar_? What the hell could they have done if it was serious!?

"Master…do you think I can get that good? I mean, you were moving so fast I could barely even see you!" he said loudly.

Sig chortled. "Shinji, believe me when I say that you have the potential to be so strong, I would be surprised if you _couldn't_ pummel me into the ground on a regular basis."

Hearing a groan from the ground, the three looked at the crater as Lillian dragged herself to her feet. She gave Sig a satisfied smile. "Well Sigurd…I'm glad to see that you're skills haven't dulled." Before the last words finished leaving her mouth the woman had collapsed to the ground face-first, unconscious once more.

In the bushes, Asuka's face was chalk white at seeing the punishment her rival had dished out on the powerful woman she cheered on against him. '_He moved so fast! How can I even hope to beat someone like that!?_' she asked herself as she slowly left the park, unable to stand being near the place where she realized that she could never beat the confident American at martial arts. Tears stung the redhead's eyes as she ran; her pride wounded far worse by the truth she had seen than any verbal attack Sig had ever sent her way.

**(The following week)  
**Shinji felt rather proud of himself that morning. His advanced lessons, while far more punishing than usual due to Sig's rigorous training methods, had been paying off. Shinji felt himself becoming stronger every day. Sig had even taught Shinji the theory on how to draw forward his own personal AT-Field, though neither of the two actually attempted it, lest they draw the attention of certain supercomputers that shall remain nameless.

The boy still had somewhat of a hard time believing that he had achieved a stage of human evolution that few had ever accomplished. According to Sig, Ascending relied on a couple basic prerequisites. First of all, one had to have a large enough ki reserve so that their body could bear the physical changes that came with the Ascension. Second, the person had to be under a lot of physical or emotional stress. Shinji found that one to be rather simple; he had been attacked by an Angel at the time after all.

Sig also informed him that the AT-Field was nothing more than a barrier constructed of concentrated ki, and by focusing his ki into a solid wall in front of himself, Shinji could bring his AT-Field out. The reason most people couldn't use their fields was because they simply didn't have enough ki to create a very powerful one and had little experience in actually focusing their ki in any way, shape, or form.

As for Shinji himself…if he didn't notice any change in his body before his Ascension, he certainly did now, though the changes had been gradual after the Eighth. He had grown several inches in a matter of days, now standing just maybe a half a head shorter than Sig. His muscles had also expanded and bulked up, giving him a greater muscle density that made his skin rather hard to puncture. Ritsuko really didn't like that particular change when he went in to get a physical done. Finally, his senses had apparently become much sharper. Shinji now possessed a sensory clarity that at times annoyed him, especially in the mornings when his more sensitive eyes were hit with sunlight first thing after he wakes up.

As if that wasn't enough, Rei had decided to take the plunge and begin training under Sig as well. Her progress in a week wasn't quite as fast as Shinji's but her previous experience with Nerv's military trainers had prepared her enough for Sig to dive right into the basics of hand-to-hand combat after only five days. The fact that Asuka had slowly quit verbally attacking him was an added bonus.

The only setback Shinji saw to his changes was the fact that Misato now found it highly appealing to pinch him in rather personal places. The boy would blush uncontrollably whenever his guardian thought it a good idea to pinch his buttocks or playfully pat him between the legs, calling him 'big boy.'

Shinji smiled as he watched the teacher walk at his usual time. The young Eva pilot swore that people could set their watches by the old fart: he never missed a class, and was always at the door at the same exact time every morning like clockwork. Before Hikari could get up to do her drill-sergeant impression, the lights went out.

Everyone in class looked around in confusion, including the teacher. A power outage? The professor told everyone to remain calm and wait for the back-up generators to kick on. Five minutes later, the group was still standing in darkness and many of the girls in class, Hikari at their head, had scooted closer to Shinji; though the Third Child never actively took notice of it. Sig made it a point to speak up.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get tunnel vision just standing here. What happened to the back-up power?" he asked.

Rei glanced at him briefly. "Tokyo-3 has several layers of back-up generators on standby in the event of a mass blackout. For all layers to not work can only mean one thing…" she said.

Sig smirked. "Good ole' fashion sabotage. One question: who would have the balls, or the brains for that matter, to actually try and blank out the whole city like this?"

Shinji tried to contact Misato on his cell phone, but the reception was completely dead. "We'd better get to Nerv. This may be an attack," he said cautiously. The other two pilots nodded.

Sig pushed his way through the blackness and managed to open the door, beckoning the pilots towards him. "Then come on you three! Get the lead out! I'll follow you guys to Nerv myself just in case. Who knows what kind of chaos is going on outside," he exclaimed.

As the three pilots shuffled and made their forward to follow Sig out the door, they heard a loud blaring sound break through the silence that had settled: The Angel alarms.

* * *

Well that does it for Chapter 4 guys. For those wanting more Gendo-bashing, I've got a hell of an idea set up for the next chapter. Trust me: you'll love it. I nearly gave myself a heart attack just thinking about it. Also, Shinji will get to fight more, but not until at least the next chapter or two.

Next time on **The Demon Master**, Chapter 5: Trouble Always Comes in Pairs. The Ninth Angel has arrived, and the pilots have to use all their wits to come out on top with Tokyo-3 out of commission. Also, Class 2-A gets a couple of new additions as the girls all decide Shinji is ripe for the taking.

Okay then, time for the voting update. As if the end of Chapter 4, the voting tally stands as thus:

Rei-17

Asuka-14

Hikari-12

Misato-14

Maya-10

Mana-12

Ritsuko-8

O/C-1

Rei still holds a commanding lead in the votes, though Asuka has surged back to pull into a tie with Misato, leaving Hikari and Mana shortly behind. Keep those votes coming people. I wanna see us hit at least 25 on somebody before the end of Chapter 5.

Until next time, this is Psycho Counter, signing off! Send more reviews.


	5. Trouble Always Comes in Pairs

Hey everyone Psycho Counter's back with the next thrilling episode of The Demon Master. Today we get to see the battle against Ninth Angel, plus a couple new players enter the field. Hope to see everyone reviewing and sending in their votes.

VERY IMPORTANT: I have decided that the voting shall officially end after **Chapter 7** is completed, so make sure to get your votes in before that deadline. Hope to see some competition because it's rather boring when somebody runs away with a mass majority of the audience.

Also, there will be minor crossover stuff in here from now on, but I'll leave you all to guess where it's from.

Alright guys, let's get this party back online!

Disclaimer: I don't own Eva, Anno does. Gendo would've been humiliated at every freaking opportunity if I was in charge, starting with a boot to the balls.

* * *

**The Demon Master  
****By Psycho Counter**

**Chapter 5: Trouble Always Comes in Pairs**

"So Morgan, why exactly did you bother to come with us? You know that you can't get into Nerv HQ right?" Asuka asked as the three pilots jogged behind the taller boy. With Section-2 nowhere in sight as they exited the school, the small group had to resort to old fashioned foot power to get them to Nerv.

"Because Asuka, we're not entirely certain what's going on around here and if there's one thing that worries me, it's being in the dark like this while you guys are out there risking your necks. Besides, I'm coming mainly to act as riot control in case we run into any rowdies that decided to panic after the power went out," Sig replied, keeping a steady pace as Rei directed the foursome in the direction of the elevators.

Shinji locked his eyes on the back of his master's head. What the American had said made sense. In a case like this, people could easily find reason to panic and might even start looting and attacking each other in the worst case. Sig's protection was easily the best weapon they had in their favor at the moment…at least until they reached the Evas.

"We're almost to the elevators, Master Morgan. We just have several more blocks to go," Rei said.

Sig nodded. "Good. I'll feel a lot more secure when you three are inside there," he said. Rounding another corner, the four felt as if they were in a ghost town as they gazed around the area. There was absolutely nobody around outside, and the streets were dead silent. Not even the wind dared to make a sound. It was slightly creepy to the children. Even Rei found the silence mildly disturbing.

It only took another five minutes before they reached the elevator shaft that would take the pilots to the Geofront. Luckily, this particular shaft would bring them at one of the closest possible points to the Eva cages. When Rei tried to use her ID card to open the door, however, nothing happened.

Sig smacked his forehead. "Lovely. Even these things don't work. Alright guys, stand back," he exclaimed as he walked up to the thick steel doors. The pilots ducked behind a car as Sig stretched his arms out and flexed his body slightly. The two girls couldn't help but notice the boy's skin rippling under his clothes as his powerful muscles expanded and contracted beneath, readying themselves for work.

Sig sighed lightly and, stepping up to the shaft doors, gripped the crease between them tightly. Groaning and grunting, Sig pulled his hands in opposite directions, trying to force the doors open with sheer strength.

Asuka snorted in disgust as she watched her rival outside the Eva try to open the doors by himself. Who did he think he was, Superman? Nobody had that kind of strength, not even him…

Her thoughts died in her mind when she saw, quite slowly, the doors began to give. Groaning loudly, Sig gnashed his teeth together and pulled harder, the doors creaking as they were forced open. Finally sick and tired of trying to do the task by himself, Sig flared his ki and, with a mighty heave, wrenched the doors open at last, smashing them straight through the walls they were attached to.

Shinji and the others blanched at the damage Sig had wrought. He literally tore a pair of sold steel doors apart using only his hands!

Grinning at them, Sig gave them a thumbs-up sign. "Well that takes care of that," he said.

"Impressive. I see that you've gotten stronger, Sigurd," a strange, raspy voice called out. The foursome wheeled around to face the newcomer.

He was easily the strangest thing any of the three pilots had ever seen, and considering what they fought for a profession, that was saying something. The figure seemed to be male, if the voice was any indication, though his body at first made it kind of hard to tell. His voice seemed to Shinji to be worse than nails on a chalkboard, if it were possible. His body was tall and thin…too thin if you had to ask, and he surprisingly stood at least two heads taller than Sig. The man looked like those anorexic celebrities one saw in tabloid magazines. His arms were long and lanky, but the hands attached to them were enormous, easily able to circle his fingers around the wrist two or three times. His lower limbs were the same: long skinny legs attached to gigantic feet that looked more in place on a yeti. How the guy bought his shoes, Shinji didn't want to know. The stranger's eyes were a deep blue and his sleek golden hair fell down the small of his back like waves.

His attire, if anything, was as strange as his appearance. On his chest, he wore nothing but a forest green vest with long sleeves that covered the upper halves of his arms, exposing his fragile-looking chest to the world. Around his wrists, he wore bright silver bangles that jingled whenever he moved his arms in the slightest. His slacks were dark beige, extremely baggy and barely hanging to his waist by the belt that he wore. Finally, the ensemble was completed with a skull earring that dangled from his right ear, and a monocle was affixed to his right eye.

Sig grimaced as he saw the figure. "Oh this is perfect. How the hell did you get here, Toma? Have you been following me?" he asked.

The man chuckled. "Not so much following as hunting. Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass you are to track down?! I've been searching for you for months, and here I find you training some filthy humans!" he snapped.

Shinji was confused. Humans? Then what the hell was this guy? "Master, who is this?" he asked, looking up at Sig.

The taller boy sighed. "That's Tomahawk or Toma for short. He's a bounty hunter from the Demon Realm that takes great pride in hunting down those the Overlord deems a threat to his rule. My mother pissed the guy off a couple decades ago because she beat him at something and so he's sent Toma to finish off the family line, which ends with me," Sig explained. The pilots gasped. This guy was a demon!

As if sensing their thoughts, Sig continued. "Surprisingly, Toma isn't a full demon himself. In reality, he's half demon, half angel. An odd combination, for sure, though not that uncommon really."

Shinji's eyes widened. An Angel too?! If that was true, then this Tomahawk guy was major trouble.

Waving his hand behind him, Sig gestured to the broken doors behind him. "You guys go on ahead and take care of your business with big, bad, and ugly up here. I'll handle Toma. He's after me, anyway, so I may as well whoop his ass while he's around," he said.

Rei nodded and took Shinji by the hand. "Very well. Ikari-kun, Pilot Sohryu; we must get to the Evas as soon as possible if we are to defeat the Ninth." Shinji and Asuka nodded as they took off down the halls and into the elevator, quickly moving out of sight.

Toma smirked as he held out his hand, an intricate rune appearing in the air. Reaching his hand inside, the thin hybrid withdrew an elegant ruby-crested longsword. "You always were a fool, Sigurd. I can't believe you actually believe that pathetic human boy is the Heir. The fact that you call yourself The Demon Master when you are only half-demon yourself is just as laughable," he mocked.

Sig chortled and quickly stripped to his training clothes, releasing the gravity seal in the process. "You know nothing of the Eternal Prophecy, Tomahawk. Shinji Ikari is the true Heir of Infinity, and you are nothing but an obstacle that needs to be removed if he is to achieve his destiny." Glaring at his opponent, Sig slammed his hand into the ground and, in a flash of violet energy, removed a vicious-looking axe from his own seal in the earth, a large moonstone embedded in the shaft between its serrated blades.

Staring each other down, Toma held his weapon above his head in an offensive stance as Sig touched the tip of his axe blade to the ground, his arms hanging loose. Relaxing his tensely wound muscles, Sig let out a roar as he charged, the axe ripping through the ground as they brought the blades against each other in a shower of crimson sparks.

**(Nerv HQ: Central Dogma)  
**"Damn it! Where are those kids?" Misato yelled as she fanned herself with a pile of papers she had picked up off of Ritsuko's desk.

The doctor in question sighed exasperatedly as she watched her close friend. "Really Misato, give them a little while longer. The power's out and they might even be outside the doors as we speak, trying to get in."

No sooner did the words leave her mouth then the door swung open to reveal the three Evangelion pilots, all suited up and ready to launch. Misato blinked. "Wow Rits, are you psychic?" she asked.

Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki cleared his throat from the command post, causing everyone to look up at him and Gendo. "This is better than we could've hoped for. Pilots, make your way to the Evangelions immedi-"

"Sir!" Maya called out, swinging her chair around. "The Magi are picking up three extraordinarily immense energy signatures right above us!" Nerv had managed to siphon enough power to keep the Magi and their camera monitors in the city online, but not much else.

Everyone's eyes bulged at the news. THREE!? Were they being attacked by three Angels at once?

Ritsuko hurried to her station. "Analyzing the signatures now…what the hell?!"

Misato rushed over to the bottle blonde. "What's wrong Ritsuko?"

She shook her head in disbelief. "This can't be right! The three energies are all emitting different blood patterns. One of them if definitely the Angel because there's the blue pattern, but it's actually the smallest one of the lot. The two others are roughly equal, but one's giving off a black pattern and the other is giving off a grey pattern," she said. Shinji couldn't believe his ears.

'_Is Master giving off one of the other blood patterns? And if so, what does it mean?_' he asked himself. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Maya's voice cutting through the air.

"Bringing up a visual now!" The main monitor switched on as the bridge crew got their first look at Matariel, the Ninth Angel.

The beast looked, quite frankly, like a gigantic spider with dozens of eyes around the main body. Shinji shivered when he saw it; he hated spiders with a passion. The crew was buzzing in confusion. Where were the other two energy signals coming from?

"Sir, the Magi have pinpointed the larger signatures. They're pretty close. The visuals are coming in…now!" Maya said as the cameras focused in on something that made Shinji's heart leap into his throat.

Sig and Toma were in the middle of a war zone. The entire street around them had been torn to shreds. Cars were overturned and split in half, with some actually hanging over massive holes in the ground. Hell, Asuka screamed in shock when she saw a couple tankers literally piercing through buildings…some at least ten stories into the air.

The two combatants themselves were in the middle of it all, each forcing themselves against the other as they vied for an advantage as their blades rang out with each clash. Sig leapt forward and attacked with a horizontal slash, as Toma ducked underneath and thrust upward in an attempt to pierce the American's heart. Sig then spun himself to the side in mid-air and ran at the demon-angel hybrid again, swinging his weapon with a skill and speed that the Nerv personnel felt he had no business possessing.

Toma parried each blow skillfully, throwing his hand out finally and blasting a ball of ki at Sig's face. Sig barely avoided the ball of death by bending his spine backwards so much that Shinji felt he could've won a limbo championship with that move. Sig righted himself again and shot his leg out, slamming his foot into the side of Tomahawk's knee. The taller man grunted and leapt away, turning around and grabbing a nearby car. The Nerv crew gasped as he lifted the vehicle off the ground with one hand and chucked it right at Sig. The martial artist grinned as his hand erupted in a black flame. Running right at the incoming attack, Sig pulled his hand back and let fly with a large sphere of black fire. "Dark Eclipse!"

The car was obliterated as the energy ball vaporized it, continuing its destructive path towards Toma. The hybrid's eyes enlarged as he jumped into the air to dodge. Gritting his teeth, he grunted as a pair of wings shot out of his back and, smiling, he took off towards Sig again.

Gendo finally managed to regain his voice. "This wasn't in the plan. Pilots!"

The three children looked up, Shinji with a light glare resting on his eyes. The bearded bastard continued. "You are to launch the Evangelions immediately and engage the Ninth Angel. Hopefully, those two others will eliminate each other before you finish. But if they do not...your orders are to do it yourselves."

Shinji and Rei held in their gasps. Kill Sig? Sure he obviously wasn't human if what they were seeing was any proof, but he was still their master and, more importantly, their friend. Shinji in particular felt rage directed towards his father for his casual manner in ordering the three to kill someone that was risking his life to protect them. Suddenly, Shinji's glare turned into a smirk.

'_I'll just have to leave father a little present before I go,' _Shinji thought as he and the others ran to the cages. Asuka and Rei jumped into Units-02 and -00 while Shinji lagged behind. Within minutes though, he was gearing up Unit-01 for launch as well. It was a godsend that the technicians had all manually prepared the entry plugs for insertion into the Evas as soon as the power went down. Activating their biomechanical war machines, the pilots pushed the locks holding their Evas in place apart and stepped down onto the ground.

"Alright you three, listen up! The Angel's right above us and is using a highly corrosive acid to penetrate the Geofront. The quickest pathway to the Angel's location is through the ventilation system that carries the Bakelite throughout headquarters. You need to be quick, though, because the Evas are running on back-mounted battery packs that only have about 10 minutes worth of juice in them. After that you'll be running for 5 more minutes on the internal batteries. Move out!" Misato exclaimed. The buxom woman still had a hard time believing what she saw. Sig was an enemy? But then why was he fighting that other guy? And what did they have to do with the Angels? There were too many questions and not enough answers for Misato at that point. She would just have to wait and hope...

**(Nerv HQ: Bakelite vents)  
**The Evas quickly crawled their way through the maze-like system of vents with the help of a map uploaded to their internal computers by the Magi. Unfortunately, they got as far as the hole where the Angel was dropping its 'load' before being stopped by the continual shower of acid.

"So now what? That Angel's gonna break through to HQ soon if we don't do something," Asuka cried in frustration. Shinji leaned back in his plug, thinking. There had to be a way to stop the acid bath. Using an AT-Field wouldn't do any good, since the Angel's would cancel it out, thereby leaving both parties vulnerable. If only they had another kind of shield...

Shinji blinked. Of course! It was risky, but then again...Sig always told the boy he needed to be a little more reckless.

"Hey guys, I've got an idea," he said.

"What kind of plan could _you _come up with that isn't a total waste of time, Third?" Asuka asked. Rei grimaced at the crimson unit next to her. Even in a situation like this, the redhead always found ways to verbally abuse Shinji.

"Can it Asuka, we don't have much in the way of options right now. Listen, I'm pretty sure I can create a shield using my ki to protect you two from that Angel's acid. All we need is one of you to get in there and nullify that thing's AT-Field so the other can fire a rifle burst at the enemy," Shinji said.

Rei considered the plan thoroughly. Of all the possible ideas they had at their disposal, Shinji's was easily the most viable and had the greatest chance of success. "Then it's settled. Sohryu, I shall cancel out the Angel's AT-Field while you attack directly. You have the higher sync ratio so you'll have far greater accuracy in hitting the target."

Asuka nodded. "Okay. Guess I don't really have a choice then. Besides, it seems like the only plan we've got right now. Alright then, let's move!"

Together, the three Evangelions barreled out of the vent at once, Shinji grabbing the wall above him to swing himself over his comrades. Rei took the middle ground and expanded her AT-Field, feeling it slam against the Angel's. Both Unit-00 and the Angel were left defenseless as the creature dropped another couple dozen gallons of acid downward. The acid was deflected into the wall as it ran right into Shinji's pure white shield of energy. He had first wrapped his ki around the Eva in a thin sheet, much like a second skin. Then, he spread it out above him like a projector, keeping it focused tighter in the center to divert the acid away from his Eva and the two below him.

The maneuver worked. The Angel's attack was completely unable to penetrate the shield, leaving Asuka free to fire a volley right into the Ninth's main body as Units-01 and -00 dove to the side and flattened themselves against the walls of the hole. The rounds slammed right into the Angel's largest eye, in the exact middle of its lower half. The result: Matariel goes _boom!_

The bridge crew cheered. That was nine Angels down, but how many left to go? Misato breathed a sigh of relief. That was one less Angel they had to worry about. The fact that the pilots had managed to work somewhat cohesively as a team was icing on the cake.

**(Tokyo-3: The Streets)  
**"Give it up, Sigurd! You can't beat me," Toma said nasally as he took another swipe at the shorter boy, only for his blade to be swept to the side as Sig tried jabbing him right in the nose with a closed fist.

"Oh for the love of the Overlord, shut the fuck up! I really don't wanna deal with you right-" Sig shot back before they heard a loud rumbling. Turning to face the sound, they saw the Ninth Angel explode in a destructive bang. The bad news? The resulting shockwave was heading right at them. Sig summarized the situation in the best way he could. "We are so _boned_…" he said.

The shockwave hit.

**(Nerv HQ: Central Dogma)  
**"What happened to the cameras?! And those other two?" Misato cried. Makoto Hyuuga, her assistant, swiveled to face her.

"The explosion seems to have taken them out, ma'am. Though I don't see how either of the other energy signals could've survived that. They were essentially at ground zero when it happened," he explained. Misato bit her lip in response. She didn't like this one bit…

**(Tokyo-3: The Streets)  
**"Ohhh, my head," Toma groaned as he dragged himself out of the rubble. Looking around, he spotted Sig lying face-up in the pavement, a large slab of building on top of him. Smirking, the tall demon walked over and got a better look. Sig's shirt had been basically atomized, his chest exposed. Also, a thin trail of blood ran down the side of his face, eventually curving down and pooling on the earth below. Looking more closely, he noticed a strange symbol on the young half-demon's chest, over his heart.

"Hmmm, a seal? Now that's peculiar," he said as he laid a hand on the mark and began to chant. As he finished the mark glowed a deep purple, an inky black smoke emerging from the fallen boy's chest with a hiss. Backing away, Toma never noticed Sig's eyes shoot open; they were now completely black.

The two were enveloped in a flash of blinding light.

**(Nerv Medical Ward)  
**Sig moaned painfully as he opened his eyes. He quickly shut them again as the sunlight blinded him.

"Ohhh man, what the hell ass balls ran me over?" he asked to no one in particular as he got up and looked around. It looked like a hospital. Hearing the door slide open, he turned his head to see his students and Misato walk in, a bright smile on each of their faces.

Smiling back, he blushed as Misato teased him. "Looks like Sleeping Beauty finally woke up," she said.

Sig chuckled. "I ain't no beauty Misato, and you know it. Now what the hell happened?"

The purple-haired captain sighed. "Well, the Commander discovered that you aren't human and so he placed you under arrest. He tried to inject a sedative into you as well, but your skin was too tough for him to break. He finally gave up and left for the Eva cages. But in all effect, you're stuck here at Nerv."

The boy smirked. "I'd love to see him try and keep me here. But enough about Shinji's douche bag of an old man, I guess I owe you guys not only an explanation, but an apology. I'm sorry that I lied to you about certain things, but it was necessary to ensure that I could get into the city and hide my identity. Also, I'm afraid that I can't exactly tell you everything for two reasons. One: it's not the right time. Two: I don't trust the walls around here to not have ears."

Shinji nodded and placed a gentle hand on Sig's shoulder. "It's okay Master, we understand. I'm just worried about you. You don't know what kind of person my father is," he said.

Sig grinned. "Oh I know what kind of person he is…he's a royal dickhead who needs someone to take the stick out of his ass!" he exclaimed, looking towards the camera and flipping it the bird.

Misato cupped her hand over her mouth to keep the giggles that threatened to escape her lips inside, and the children weren't much better. Even Rei found the boy's blatant disrespect of the bearded man highly amusing.

"But anyway," he continued, "I need to let you guys know the truth about some things. You're right in saying that I'm not human. I'm actually half-human and half-demon. My mother was a powerful demonness that was exiled by Overlord Thanatos for what he called an 'attempted assassination,' though my mother was nowhere near the castle at the time. After she came here, she met my father, who was a respected American professor of ritual anthropology, and fell in love. Long story short, I resulted from that union. Unfortunately, when she was exiled my mother's demonic powers were drained from her. My dad quit his job at the University of Texas to open a restaurant with her, though they killed when the American economy hit rock bottom and they couldn't meet their rent on the building. I came here because of an old legend that Master Nakar told me about shortly after he took me in, and I was rather interested in it."

The three listened closely, taking in every word the young hybrid was telling them. Not even Gendo could've gotten their attention by that point. Speaking of whom…

**(Nerv HQ: Eva Cages)  
**Gendo walked along the footpath in front of the Evas smoothly. With that monster locked up in the base, he would be able to harness its power for his scenario. He would have to use the Third as leverage, but it would be worth it. Glancing down, he saw a trio of long iron poles that were propped upon an old box, directly underneath him. The path was too narrow for him to walk around the poles, so he simply decided to walk over them. They were probably being used for renovations in the facility somewhere. Not thinking anything of it, he continued walking in deep thought, never noticing the silent _twang_ of the wire he stepped on as it broke, releasing the heavy toolbox it was holding up on the landing above.

BAM! CRUNCH!

"YEOWWWW! MY BEAUTIFUL BALLS ARE BUSTED!" Gendo screamed in a high soprano as the iron rods were fired up and into his crown jewels as the toolbox landed on the ends perched in the air, creating a deranged see-saw effect.

The techs watched in terror as the Commander of Nerv squealed in agony, his body tipping right over the edge of the walkway and plummeting onto the unforgiving floor below with a loud thump.

Technicians everywhere stared at each other for a few moments before they all bolted for the nearest exits. There was no way in hell they were sticking around to see the aftermath of _this _fiasco…

Thus, Commander Ikari was left to groan in pain at the bottom of the Eva cages, his manhood now a fragmented shell of its former self, and his body battered and bruised to boot.

He never even took notice when Sig had simply walked out of the Geofront later that day, breaking the wrists of a couple poor Section-2 agents when they tried to stop him.

**(The next week)  
**"So what do you guys think the old geezer's gonna drone on about today?" Sig asked. Kensuke gave the young demon-human a strange look. Everybody in the city had found out about Sig's origins once Nerv made a public announcement to make themselves look better. In reality, all it did was give the people something else to be pissed at the organization's leader for, since he called Sig 'a bloodthirsty monster' when he obviously was nothing of the sort. "Please tell me that was a rhetorical question Sig," he said much to the taller boy's amusement.

"By the way Sig, what the hell is with that doll of yours?" Toji questioned. Sig looked down at the figure wrapped around his side. It looked like a penguin with a navy blue body, white belly, and tiny bat wings on its back, but it had pegs where it should've had legs. It also had a little pouch attached to its waist.

"What, him? This is Chiepoo, a prinny. Prinnies are basically the souls of beings who've committed evil deeds in their previous life. In order to be reincarnated, they have to work in the Demon Realm or Heaven until they either earn enough money to pay off their former sins, or perform enough good deeds to cancel out the bad ones. They're actually useful little buggers, and Chiepoo was my mother's vassal until her death, when he transferred his servitude contract to me," Sig replied. Hikari walked over during the explanation and squeaked happily when she saw the little penguin-like object.

"Oh how cute!" she exclaimed, rushing forward and grabbing the prinny in a tight hug before Sig could object. In response, the thing's beak opened wide as the girl swung him around.

"Hey dood! I'm getting dizzy, dood!"

Everyone screamed when the prinny spoke, Hikari dropping it like a hot plate instantly. They were even more stunned when it got up on its little peg legs and waved a flipper at them. "Howdy dood," Chiepoo said.

Half the class fainted.

Sig barked with laughter at the unconscious students around him. "Well that was expected. That's usually how humans first react when they see a prinny." Shinji stood still. He had to admit, after everything his master had shown him thus far about the Demon Realm; prinnies were rather tame by comparison.

The old teacher walked in, either not noticing or just flat out not caring that half his pupils were laying unconscious, mumbling about 'talking peg-legged penguins.' Turning to face the class, he spoke.

"Alright class, we have two new transfers joining us today. I'd like you to treat them both with respect and make them feel welcome like we have Morgan-san. Come on in."

The door opened to reveal two girls. The first one walked to the front of the class eagerly. She was a redhead like Asuka, only with shorter length hair and bright green eyes, plus her features were clearly Japanese. Smiling cutely, she opened her mouth. "Hi everyone! My name's Mana Kirishima and I just moved here from Kyoto since my dad got a new job at Nerv. I like going to onsens, eating teriyaki shrimp, and playing the flute. It's very nice to meet you all." With that, she looked around and sat down in an empty seat to Shinji's left. Gazing at the greenhorn martial artist, Mana giggled.

"You're cute," she told him sweetly. Instantly, every girl in the class was glaring at the newcomer for opening flirting with the young pilot. Everyone's eyes swiveled to the other girl.

As soon as Sig saw her, his eyes bulged and his mouth ran dry. '_Son of a bitch…she's here_,' he thought.

The girl smiled as she surveyed the class. She stood at maybe 5'3", almost half a foot shorter than Sig. Her eyes were a vivid hazel, shining with happiness. She had a round face, a small button nose, and full cheeks, complete with dimples for added cuteness. It was her hair that grabbed everyone's attention, however. It was pink…a bright neon pink that draped over her face in numerous spikes, giving her a slight gothic look. She grinned evilly as she looked at her new classmates.

"Hey guys, what's shaking! The name's Milly Forest, but trust me: that'll change soon enough. I came here all the way from America to learn Japanese and find someone very important to me. My hobbies include playing softball, watching comedy movies, and playing with my pet cats. Hope to make lots of new friends," she said, skipping giddily over towards Sig. The young man was sweating bullets as she drew closer. No force short of Armegeddon itself would prevent her from saying what she wanted to. Who was he kidding? Even _that _wouldn't stop her...

"Excuse me," one of the braver boys in class said, causing Milly's eyes to shift towards him as she moved. "But what did you mean when you said that your name would change soon?"

The girl smiled deviously. "Well, since you asked...my name will eventually be Milly Morgan before long," she said. The silence was so thick, you could carve into it with a knife. Slowly, every head in the room turned towards Sig, whose face was cherry red from the immense blush.

Milly giggled and wrapped her arms around the boy, caressing his cheek lovingly. "That's right. Sigurd here is my fiancé."

Barring Sig and Milly, everybody collapsed in a dead faint.

* * *

Well guys that's it for Chapter 5. Hope you liked it. We'll learn more about this prophecy and Shinji's role in it later. I plan on keeping you guys chasing your tails on this one for a while yet.

Next time on **The Demon Master**, Chapter 6: Girl Problems. Sig and Shinji get the old rope-a-dope routine as Milly fights off competition for her supposed betrothed and the rest of the girls literally start cat fighting over our favorite male pilot.

Alright guys here's what you've all been waiting for: the votes! As of the end of Chapter 5, the voting stands as thus:

Rei-25

Asuka-23

Hikari-19

Misato-18

Maya-15

Mana-20

Ritsuko-13

O/C-2

Well it looks like Rei's lead has dwindled somewhat, with Asuka only two votes behind. And what's this? Hikari and Mana have made a major comeback and left Misato in the dust. This is turning out to be more competitive than I originally thought. Keep those reviews/votes coming folks!

Also, I said it in Chapter 3 but I'll say it again: SIG AND ALL OTHER O/C'S ARE MY OWN CREATIONS! I don't own anything Eva-related or the prinnies.

Until next time, this is Psycho Counter signing off! Send reviews!


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